, 1887-11-12

ana unQeTDruSn. IL was Cnarteu as On-
inhabited, except occasionally by pearl
divers or wreckers, and as the weather
babe fair to hold pleasant no anchor
watch was set. As the weather was hot
the sailors slept on deck, there being one
white man and five natives. Everything
passed off quietly until Just In the gray
of the morning. when a terrible commo-
ton on deck routed ne out. 1t seemed that
an octopus had crawled up the low side of
the schooner, perhaps to crafty its curios-
ity, but seeing the sleeping men had, per-
haps, also to crafty its curiosity. flung a
feeler at one of them, and taken such a
hold of his hand and arm that he awoke
with a shout of pain. The others were also
aroused, and seeing what had happened
they seized whatever weapons were at
hand and made the octopus release its
hold. l came on deck just as it fell into
the water alongside, and the splash was
as heavy as if a man had fallen over
board. A portion of the feeler which
had grasped the sailor had been broken
off by the blows. There were three or
four feet of it, and for a time it squirmed
and twisted about the deck like a snake.
1t had touched the mans flesh only in
one spot on the back of the hand, but he
made as much ado over it as one would
a bullet in the leg. 1t vas a horrible
wound, however. The flesh was puck
cred up and blistered. and the spot where
the cup had taken hold looked like
an erysipelas sore. 1t was a long four
weeks before the wound healed. and the
scar left closely resembled that of a burn.
l had the sailor in the cabin dressing
his hand, and it was twenty minutes
after we had beaten off the octopus, when
there was another cry from the deck, and
/ heard the men run forward and tumble
into the ~forecastle and slide the cover.
More from instinct than any thought of
danger l closed the cabin door, then the
skylight which lighted the cabin. There
was a slide door in the forecastle bulk
head communicating with the hold, and
also one from the cabin. After two or
three minutes the sailors came climbing
over the cargo-we being about one-third
full-and 1 let them into the cabin. 1
never saw a more frightened lot of men,
and 1 could not at first believe the story
they told. They said that when the &C.
topus fell into the water he swan off in
the direction of a rocky reef on our port
quarter, and distant about 200 feet.
After a few minutes the men noticed a
considerable commotion in the water, and
Niho bAaNhoh1 dPBAodSilCos al GU ink
they made out five or six octopuses at
the vessels side, and before they drew
back and ran away the monsters were
throwing their feelers over the low bull
warks.
''There's one of 'em, sir-there's onel"
shouted the mate at this moment, and we
turned to the skylight to see three or
four of the horrible feelers playing over
it. AT the same moment the schooner
was canted to port with a sudden pull all
of three streaks, or with as much force
as a strong puff of wind would have ex-
ercised in the open sea. At this move
ment all the natives broke out in a yell of
alright, and, as 1 sternly rebuked them,
one of them exclaimed:
"Ohl Captain, the devil fish have come
aboard, and not n of US can escaped"
There was no longer any doubt that we
were beset by the creatures. There was
not a second in which the feelers were
not playing over the skylight. and others
could be heard fastening to and dragging
things about the deck. AS the entire
affair was afterward put in writing,
sworn to by every man on board, and
left with the representative of the British
government at Surahava, Island of Java,
l shall not hesitate here to state particu-
lars. The noise on deck might be likened
to a row between four or five men.
Everything movable was being moved
and flung about. My skylight had a
hard wood frame and heavy glass, and
the feelers found very little to grasp. The
noise made as the cups fastened to the
glass by suction and let go again was like
the snap of a pair of pincers. Looking
from the bulls eye in the stern l could
see hat the water was all in u commo-
ton, although there was not a breath of
air outside.
l had a dozen muskets, as many
pixies, several cutlasses, and nine or ten
hatchets in the cabin. This was the
schooner's regular armament, for we
were continually among suspicious peo-
pie. 1 let the men take their choice of
weapons, and then divided our force and
sent half the number back to the fore
castle, from which they could open the
attack at a signal. Then 1 carefully slid
back the door of the companion to get a
look on deck. The sight was one no
man could ever forget. If there was
one octopus on the port rail their were a
dozen, and if there was one feeler twist
ing and squirming around the decks there
were forty. They were twisted about
everything and pulled at everything.
Every coil of rope was off its pin and
being dragged and whipped about in the
widest fashion, and from the motion of
the schooner n could not but think the
monsters were trying to capsize her. /
did not lave more than thirty seconds
time to glance around before three or
four feelers shot at me at once, and /
closed the slide not a second too soon to
avoid them.
1t was death in its most horrible form
to put foot on the deck, and 1 sent word
to the men in the ~forecastle not to at
tempt any movement. l was in hopes
that if we remained quiet the creatures
would tire themselves out and 20 away
after awhile, and we spoke in whispers
and moved about as softly as possible.
They had come aboard of us about @
o'clock in the morning, and at 10 o'clock
were still there, though for the last half
hour the noise on deck had been less.
This was accounted for by the fact that
almost everything movable had gone
overheard. There was not at that time
a Delaying pin, capstan bar, stick of fire
wood, oar or loose rope left on board.
The scuttle butt, which no sea sweeping